It’s no secret that Disney has stumbled a bit with Star Wars in recent years, trying to find a balance between nostalgia and new characters and storylines. The comic line published by Marvel has had an easier time rambling between these two tendencies, seamlessly publishing books that take place during the original trilogy alongside new characters like Doctor Aphra. With this new Epic Collection of stories that take place right before the Rebellion begins, Marvel offers up a satisfying collection of Star Wars tales that will satisfy fans of the original trilogy.
Collected here is an extensive smattering of issues various Star Wars titles. We get Empire #5-6, 8-13 and 15, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #1-2; A New Hope Special Edition #1-4, Tag & Bink Are Dead #1, and assorted material from a slew of Star Wars Tales. Obviously, there isn’t a single unifying storyline here, rather, a series of tales that take place in and around the first Star Wars film. There is a storyline about General Dodonna, a general from the Old Republic era, that works to build the rebel base on Yavin 4. We get a curious backstory related to Darth Vader’s search for Princess Leia and the Death Star Plans that throws Darth Maul into the mix. There is some enjoyable Biggs Darklighter action, showing how he became a capable X-Wing pilot in service against the Empire. All of it is perfectly accessible and enjoyable to read and wraps up the Empire Era of the Star Wars comic universe, bringing things right up to the Rebellion period of the storyline. The Star Wars Tales material is mostly comical in nature, but provides a surprising level of variety in style.
With so many different arcs and titles collected, the art is inconsistent with some very strong showings and some less than stellar. Rick Leonardi does some great line work in his Empire issue, and I’m partial to Douglas Wheatley’s realistic style in issue #8 of the same series. Gary Erskine’s hyper detailed linework looks incredible in the Rouge Squadron issues, making the story feel much larger than the comic panels it sits within.
Where this Epic Collection really excels is in the quality of supplementals. There’s a dozen or so sketches, covers, and creator notes from the era that are a joy to explore. The cover of Han Solo fighting a giant Ferret for the cover of Star Wars Galaxy Magazine from 1998 could have been the only supplemental they provided, and I would have been fine!
While these tales fall into the Legends chronology of Star Wars (meaning they are no longer canon), there is nothing in the Epic Collection that couldn’t sit comfortably next to the existing films and lore. It doesn’t give any remarkable new insight into the Star Wars universe, but for fans of the original trilogy, this might be the type of comic they have been looking for.
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